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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Aschylus Biography AESCHYLUS, a celebrated poet, the originator of Greek tragedy, born in Eleusis in 525 B.C.; died at Gela in 456 B.C. Little is known of his life, but it is thought that he was of noble birth and a descendant of Codrus, the last king of Athens. He was not only an able writer of dramatic poetry, but took a prominent part in the defense of Athens against the Persian invaders. He fought in the battles of Marathon, Salamis and Platæa, and shared in the exulting sentiments which pervaded Greece after the fall of Darius and Xerxes. While he wrote about eighty tragedies, only seven have been preserved. These include "Prometheus Bound;" "The Seven Against Thebes; "The Persian;" "Agamemnon;" "The Choephori;" "Eumenides," and "The Suppliants. He was the first to introduce action in tragedy in place of chorus, and dramatic dialogue to supersede long narrations; masks, dresses, and scenic effects were also first suggested by him. While a number of tragedies written by Æschylus are historical in character, he drew inspiration largely from myths and legends. He gained thirteen prizes for tragedies, but was at last defeated in the competitive contest by Sophocles, and left Greece to make his home with Hiero, the tyrant of Syracuse. It is doubtful whether he ever revisited his native city. The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. I. (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 14. |